Most golfers do not need another club.
We sell used clubs, which is exactly why this page starts by telling you how to find out whether you need one. A gap has to be measured in yards before it is worth filling.
Do you need fourteen clubs?
The rules allow fourteen. Nothing requires fourteen. A new or occasional golfer who carries six well-chosen clubs will play better than one carrying fourteen they cannot tell apart, and will make half as many decisions doing it.
The six that earn their place first
- A putter. The club you will use most, and the one most often bought last.
- A pitching wedge. Everything from inside about a hundred yards, plus most shots around the green.
- A mid iron, usually a 7. The club to learn the swing with, and the one most golfers hit best.
- A short iron, a 9 or an 8. One step shorter, for approaches.
- A hybrid or a fairway wood. Easier to get airborne than a long iron, and usable off the tee and the fairway both.
- A driver, eventually. Last, not first. A hybrid off the tee costs most amateurs fewer strokes than a driver gains them.
What the other eight are for
Filling distance gaps you can actually measure. A second and third wedge, the long irons, a second fairway wood. They are useful once you know your own carry distances, and close to useless before that, because you cannot choose between two clubs whose distances you do not know.
Why a used half set beats a cheap new full set
At the same price, a used half set from a decent manufacturer gives you better heads, better shafts and clubs built to a real specification. A cheap new fourteen-club package gives you eight clubs you will not use and six that are worse than the used versions. The half set is the better buy nearly every time.
What used club condition actually means
Most wear on a used club is cosmetic and changes nothing about how it plays. A small amount of it is structural and matters a great deal. Knowing which is which is the whole skill of buying used, and it takes about ten minutes to learn.
Check in this order
Use the numbered plate beside this. Tap any point on it, or any of the buttons underneath, to read what that part of the club tells you. The order is deliberate: the first two points decide whether the club is worth considering at all.
The three that are usually fine
Sole scratches are the most common wear on any club and almost never affect how it plays. Crown marks on a driver are usually cosmetic. Grip wear is the cheapest thing on a used club to put right, so it should never be the reason you walk away from a good one.
The three that are not
A cracked or dented face means the head should be replaced rather than played. A gap or a turning ferrule means a loose head, which is a cheap repair but should be priced in. Grooves polished smooth on a wedge mean less control from near the green, which matters more than it sounds.
What to ask a seller for
- Photographs of the actual item, not a stock image: face, sole, crown, shaft and grip.
- Handedness stated explicitly. This is the one specification worth being fussy about.
- The club number or loft, the shaft material and flex, and the length if it is not standard.
- The return terms, confirmed before you buy rather than after.
Find your missing club: gaps, loft, carry and uncertainty
A distance gap is a number of yards, not a feeling that something is missing. Until you have that number, nobody can honestly tell you what to buy, including us.
Build the ladder from your own shots
- At a range, hit five balls with each club and note the middle landing distance. Throw away the best one and the worst one, because neither will happen on a course.
- Write the clubs out in distance order. This is your ladder, and it will not match the numbers on anyone else's.
- Look for a step larger than about twenty-five yards. That is a gap worth filling.
- Look also for two clubs landing in the same place. That is a wasted slot, and it is more common than a gap.
- Before buying, hit ten balls each with the clubs either side of the suspected gap. A gap found over five shots is often one bad shot.
Why loft does not tell you the distance
Two clubs with the same stamped loft can carry very differently depending on shaft length, shaft weight, how the head is built, and how you deliver it. Loft is useful for comparing clubs within one set. It is close to useless for predicting a distance across different sets and eras.
What this method cannot do
Without a launch monitor you are measuring where the ball finished, not how far it carried, and range balls fly shorter than the ball you play. The ladder is still worth building, because the steps between your clubs are reliable even when the absolute numbers are not. If you want the absolute numbers, that is a fitting, and the guide will say so rather than pretend otherwise.
The path where you spend nothing.
This is the most common honest outcome, and the guide will give it to you by name. If you own a full set and nothing points at a measured gap, the answer is to keep using what you have.
Here is what to do instead, in rough order of how much it improves your golf per dollar:
- Replace worn grips. A full set of grips costs a fraction of one new club and changes how every club in the bag feels.
- Fix loose heads and ferrules. Cheap, quick, and it stops a club you already own from being unusable.
- Run the bag audit. Free, and it tells you whether you have a gap or a wasted slot.
- Spend the money on one lesson instead. For the price of a used driver you can have someone who can actually see your swing tell you what is happening in it.
- Borrow or rent before buying a category you have never used. Particularly hybrids and specialist wedges.
Keep using what you have.
What the guide says when your answers do not show an equipment problem. It is the outcome we audit most closely, because it is the one that costs us money.
- Check every grip. Smooth and shiny means it needs replacing.
- Hold each head and give it a gentle shake. A rattle, or movement at the ferrule, is a repair.
- Look at the face grooves on your wedges. Grooves worn smooth hold the ball less well on short shots.
- Write down what you have, so you are not guessing the next time someone offers you a deal.
Infinite Fairway sells used clubs. That is the reason this outcome exists and is measured, rather than being quietly left out.
One used club, matched to the gap you measured.
Every listing shows photographs of the actual item, with handedness, club number or loft, shaft material and flex, and length where it is not standard. Price, shipping and return eligibility are confirmed on the listing itself.